Phantom Blade Zero became an instant, if unexpected contender for best in show at yesterday's PlayStation Showcase. A labor of love in the truest sense with a lineage that spans well over 10 years, this blood-spilling, bold and boisterous action-RPG has flavors of Sifu, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and, mostly as a result of the latter two, Elden Ring. I've spent a long time in the, ahem, loving throes of all four, and now want nothing more than for Phantom Blade Zero to lead me by the hand into its 'Kungfupunk' world, and chop me up with a masterfully-timed display of brutal swordsmanship.
The term Kungfupunk – a portmanteau combining 'Kung Fu' and 'punk', assumedly – is one that I reckon might turn me away in a fit of cringe in other circumstances, but Phantom Blade Zero's mention of converging worlds and incongruous disciplines is interesting, and it all looks bloody fantastic in motion. I've longed for dedicated Elden Ring samurai DLC content for some time, and while Phantom Blade Zero is still without a concrete release date, I cannot wait to see what it's got in store from here.
